Written by: Zoe Lloyd Potter, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Nutritional Endocrine Therapist & Founder of TheBody360 Health Academy
The words ‘stress’ and ‘burnout’ are bandied around a lot, and they are often grossly misused. Positive stressors are vital to our lives. They keep us motivated, challenged and inspired, and today it seems more important than ever, we learn to build our stress resilience reinforced, perhaps, by the adversity of the last few years and the disparate challenges faced by many during the global pandemic.
Talking of stress resilience, when climbing Kilimanjaro in 2003, the pre-climb training camp, consisted of 4:00 am awakenings and ice baths, such as the need to build stamina and prepare for the arduous journey ahead, so when physical or psychological stressors were encountered, we were primed and well adapted.
When studying the effect of stress in relation to human longevity, scientists have identified that small amounts of the right type of stress (named the ‘hormetic’ response) turn on our longevity gene pathways. In general, the body responds well to small degrees of the right type of deprivation or adversity. Saunas, ice baths, intermittent caloric restriction, subject to medical approval, in most people provide only health benefits. Long term or toxic stress, however, is a different story.
When it comes to the natural world, there is nothing more stressful than witnessing an animal fighting for its survival. A cheetah getting primed for a kill will release stress hormones to heighten mental alertness, and insulin to increase mobilisation of glucose and uptake to its muscles to meet immediate energy demands. But, later, we observe having expended that stress and energy in a desperate quest for food, it will sleep, rest and recover, sometimes for days. Regardless of stressors, the cheetah is not in a state of hyper-arousal over long periods: it intuitively balances periods of action with inaction.
Question: Are you constantly running around as a stressed-out, round the clock human-doing’? What do you do each day to elicit proper recovery time?
From the turn of the century, people have witnessed world wars, pandemics and financial depression, so is our body’s reaction to stressors getting worse and, if so, why? The answer came in my study of hormones and their effect on human health at the Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) in the USA, as a resounding ‘Yes’. My esteemed lecturer, Dr Pamela Wartian Smith, observed that when she started her practice twenty-five years previously, only approximately five percent of patients had dysregulated stress hormones. Today, over ninety percent of her patients have some type of HPA Axis dysfunction; the pathway where the brain (the hypothalamus) controls the output of our adrenal/stress hormones. This is a worrying trend indeed, as we will learn, and hence the purpose of this article is to look more closely at our seemingly twenty-four-hour lifestyle, and its long-term impact on health and wellbeing.
Observing my own private clients, more than sixty percent report either insomnia or the inability to relax or adverse stress reactions such as anxiety or panic, which they feel exacerbate other health conditions. Further observations in the Corporate arena, where I deliver courses on Stress Management, Health & Wellbeing In the Workplace and Understanding & Mitigating Hormone Changes In Midlife, I witness a fair share of brilliantly ambitious, type-A personalities. They spend their working day on relentless high-alert, rushing to meetings, planning, constantly juggling endless deadlines and that is just working hours, let alone the outside commitments of financial obligations, and family or relationship demands! On first impression, some seem to thrive on adrenaline and they may get away with this for a short time, but as the years progress they will be constantly borrowing from tomorrow to push through today, and that borrowing has a limited reserve.
So how do we know we are nearing burnout? In a healthy individual during the early morning, the adrenal gland releases the hormone cortisol (called the ‘Cortisol Awakening Response’) which gets us ready for action to meet the demands of the day. Cortisol should then steadily decline as the day progresses and should be lowest before bed just as another hormone, Melatonin (our sleepy hormone) starts to rise and stays high during the night ensuring restful sleep. The interplay of these two vital hormones make up our circadian rhythm/sleep-wake cycle. But what happens when we start pushing that twenty-four-hour lifestyle? We see a very different hormonal pattern: either a flattened cortisol awakening response, which leaves us feeling that we are unable to get out of bed without two espresso coffees, or we have cortisol rise instead of in the evening or in the early hours of the night leaving us tired, wired and frustratingly, wide awake. Cortisol is such a vital hormone that the body will also sometimes sequester the production of other hormones, including our sex hormones. In short bursts, cortisol is vital to our survival, but too much continuous release is highly deleterious to our brain health. As much as we can berate our bodies sometimes and feel it is letting us down, the reality is the opposite. It is ‘super smart’ and will do anything to bring all our vital signs back to homeostasis (balance). If we continuously burn the candle at both ends our master controller, the hypothalamus gland, will eventually seek to down-regulate cortisol production from the adrenal gland, and the result is debilitating exhaustion. Our adrenal glands do not shrivel up and die, but the brakes on cortisol production are firmly on. Once burnout has occurred, it can be a slow road to recover our adrenal health. There are no quick fixes and it can take several years and a change of lifestyle to fully recover.
The dysregulation of our stress hormones, also plays havoc with our thyroid gland. Generally, as stress hormones rise, thyroid hormones decrease or become less effective, and this can be the catalyst for stress-induced hypothyroidism, which can result in weight gain, fatigue, depression and muscle pain. Insulin and glucose levels can also be continuously elevated in response to real or perceived stress, and can be a potential risk factor in the onset of type II diabetes. Another potential down-regulation is in our levels of sex hormones. It’s common to see lower testosterone in men, which can increase insulin resistance, waist circumference, as well as lowering muscle mass and libido. In women, lower testosterone and our feel-good relaxation hormone progesterone, can result in relative oestrogen dominance, and the worsening of symptoms such as mood dysregulation, breast tenderness, fibroids, PMS or perimenopause symptoms. So, what started out as a beautiful symphony of hormone balance in our youth, with unrelenting stress, can turn into the hormonal equivalent of a discordant cacophony of noise.
So far, we’ve discussed mainly the physical conditions of chronic stress overload, but psychologically, many suffer from the effects of hyper-arousal. How many times do you hear friends and colleagues complain of an inability to ‘switch off’, leading to greater agitation, increased anger, anxiety, panic or being frightened or startled easily. Serotonin and/or dopamine, our feel-good neurotransmitters which are produced largely in the gut, can be undermined because, when we are stressed we can suffer low stomach acid, poor digestion and a disrupted gut microbiome. If we can barely digest our dinner, we are unlikely to produce these mood-balancing chemicals? Hyper-arousal feels incredibly uncomfortable and can lead to quick-fix dependency on medications: opioids, benzo’s, alcohol, or over-eating to self-soothe and bring much needed calm. The human-doing often has no time for exercise and meditation – I’ve even heard remarks like “sleep is for wusses”! Do you think reading this, they may now want to reconsider?
So why are we suffering more health consequences from adverse stress than our predecessors? I’m a nutritional therapist, not a sociologist, so can’t speak with authority on the impact of the breakdown of the nuclear family, moral values, cultural identities, and escalating housing markets, but no one can dispute that the frightening pace of change is exceeding the adaptation of our physiology to cope. Do you remember how sociologists thought advancement in technology was going to create additional leisure time? More pressure from more angles, some obvious, some more subtle causing a wearing away at our physical, psychological and environmental wellbeing. The ’60s and ’70s started the trend of seemingly insatiable consumerism; more material goods, more status, more luxury, etc., maybe it has taken the global threat of a pandemic to start another sea change? At the top of many people’s wish lists, today is more likely to be more time, peace, simplicity and better work-life balance. I hear our nervous systems sigh in relief.
If you recognise yourself in this article, my hope is it prompts better daily habits and small rituals that redress the balance to our long-suffering hormones and nervous system. Like the cheetah, after the stress of the day, you recognise there’s a non-negotiable need for a period of rest, so the body can uptake essential nutrients, ‘clear out the garbage’ of metabolic waste products, and renew and repair at a deep cellular level.
On a final note, did you know, even sex cannot be achieved when our nervous system is in a state of sympathetic dominance. Our bodies don’t work that way – so I’m hoping that will prompt you into immediate inaction and relaxation.
Footnote: The author is a Nutritional Endocrine, Metabolic Reset & Anti-Aging Therapist and practices under strict rules of conduct: that clients seek prior medical advice and thorough testing to obtain, or rule out, a medical diagnosis. Functional nutrition and lifestyle change can then augment an existing health protocol with medical approval, or optimise existing health with sound nutritional advice, lifestyle change, and supplementation where appropriate. No comment in any article written by the author should be construed as diagnostic and is for educational purposes only.
If you want to learn more, you can find me, Zoe Lloyd Potter at www.thebody360.co.uk where I offer private consultation, corporate stress management, health & wellness courses, or Group Online forums through my Health Academy Programmes (set to launch in June): full programme details to follow. It will be a pleasure to help you on your journey to better health, lifestyle choices and personal fulfilment.
Zoe Lloyd Potter, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Zoe Lloyd Potter is a Nutritional Endocrine Therapist and Founder of TheBody360 Health Academy Programmes. She is also a speaker on Techniques for Anti-Aging and a youtube creator. In her practice, as well as delivering 1-1 health consultancy, corporate courses in Stress Management & Wellbeing in the Workplace and Understanding & Mitigating Hormone Problems in Mid-Life, the new Health Academy Programmes which launch in June, will deliver many online health and wellbeing programmes designed to be accessible to all. With a deep desire to educate so no one suffers the misery of weight gain, hormone imbalance, poor stress resilience and gut issues, the programmes seek to provide a wealth of resources to both inspire and educate. With access to the latest in DNA analysis and fitness monitoring technology, TheBody360 is embracing the new scientific advantages to understand our bodies more. She studied endocrinology at the American Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), and the Health Science Academy: where she holds diplomas in nutritional therapy, clinical weight management, gut restoration, detoxification, stress management, sub-fertility & cancer prevention & longevity. Mission: Functional & Nutritional Health Services Accessible To All!
